Where I write on anything of interest to baseball, especially my beloved Colorado Rockies. There are lots of other teams if you go back looking, but this is pro-black-and-purple. Pardon me if real life creeps in occasionally, as, although it is a surprise to me as well, I do have one.... Facebook me! Also check out my football blog: Gang Gridiron.

GREAT first for Carp! Nobody got the ball in the air -- looks like the cutter and sinker are working. Let's go OFFENSE!Bottom 1st - Glavine vs. Eckstein, Wilson, Pujols

Eckstein - First pitch to a Card this season is also a ball.Second pitch - called strike.Third pitch - fouled off.Fourth pitch - A HIT!!! First base hit for the Cards this year is a single by Eckstein to center field.

1 on, o out.

Wilson - first pitch fouled off.Second pitch - ball, just low.Third pitch - double play, 5-4-3. I told you I don't like Wilson. At this rate, there will never be anyone on for Albert.

Alou - first pitch, first hit for the Mets. Single to Jimmy Edmonds in CF.

1 on, 2 out.

Green - first pitch, called strike.Second pitch - called strike.Third pitch - ball in the dirt.Fourth pitch - another hit, but it's a dinky flair that shorty Eckstein should have caught if he was an inch taller. C'mon, Carp, let's not give into the unfortunate two-out runners-on situation we developed in Spring Training. First and third.

Glavine - first pitch, called strike.Second pitch - hit? What the hell, Carpenter? No, no. Bad boy. Glavine singles. The Mets usually hit Carp well, for some reason, but the pitcher? No.

1 on, 0 out.

Reyes - first pitch, called strike. The Mets are doing a lot of looking tonight.Second pitch - fouled away.Third pitch - swinging strike on nasty changeup. First K of '07 for Carpenter as Reyes goes down on three.

Beltran - first pitch, called strike. As I said. Lookers.Second pitch - fouled away.Third pitch - hit by pitch. What is with Carp's control? Get with the program.

2 on, 2 out (again).

Delgado - ulp. First pitch, called strike. Again.Second pitch - Goddammit. Not good. Two-run double, both men aboard score. 2-o Mets. Eeergh. Don't like that. Taguchi, admittedly, made a big botch of the play in the outfield. I'll put some of the blame on him, but Carp's gotta make his pitches.

Carpenter - first pitch, ball, highSecond pitch, ball, off the outside cornerThird pitch, called strikeFourth pitch - Dagnabbit, we have to get this run in. Bad bunt turns into fielder's choice, Kennedy nailed at home, Carp to first.

2 out, 1 on.

Eckstein - first pitch, called strike.Second pitch - ball, high and outsideThird pitch - ball, in practically the same place.Fourth pitch - Grr. The offense is a bit tepid thus far, even though the squeeze almost worked.... Eckstein flies out middling-deep to Alou.

Top 4th - Carpenter vs. Alou, Green, Valentin

Alou - first pitch, out. I like that. Flyout to Edmonds. Get it out of the air and we'll be good, Carp.

1 out, 0 on.

Green - first pitch, ball. This ump is squeezing Carp like a lemon, and I'm not the only one who noticed.Second pitch - called strike, high in the zone.Third pitch - ball, misses slightly highFourth pitch - Another bloody-goddamn-hit, single to LF. Settle down, Christopher John Carpenter. He's been dealing with traffic in every inning since the first.

1 out, 1 on.

Valentin - first pitch, hit. First and third again. Not liking what I'm seeing thus far.

Lo Duca - first pitch, ball-that-was-not. Ump still squeezing the hell out of Carp.Second pitch - ball, off the corner. Let's not be walking in runs!Third pitch - called strike right down the middle. Why are the Mets so damned patient this year? Scary team.Fourth pitch - lower, fouled back. 2-2. C'mon, let's get out of this.Fifth pitch - fouled again. Count remains leveled.Sixth pitch - ball. Count full. Jesus H. Christ, it's too early in the season for this kind of drama.Seventh pitch - Aw hell. I really, really don't like this. Don't make me give up on the game in the fourth. Two run single, 4-0 Mets.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Carp's ERA through 3.2 is a most un-Carp-like 9.82. I do not like the Mets. He's also thrown 74 pitches through 4.

Beltran... oh boy.First pitch- called strike.Second pitch - ballThird pitch - padding the lead. 5-0. I suspect that Carp's "it's like every other start" attitude may be a bit of the problem. You've got to come out with a bit more fire and passion... and now it's Delgado again. Bloody hell. Carp's ERA now 12.27. That's got to come down, man.

Delgado - first pitch, fouledSecond pitch - chased out of the zone, 0-2.Third pitch - an out. Thank God. Carpenter, no gold star for you. I do not want to see this again. I question if LaRussa will give him one more inning against the bottom of the order, but this is a good offense that normally hits Carp well and it's making Opening Night go sour.

Bottom 4th - Glavine vs. Wilson, Pujols, Rolen

Sorry, am behind.

Wilson - K's on 6 pitches.

1 out, 0 on.

Pujols - first pitch, called strikeSecond pitch- ballThird pitch - ballFourth pitch - called strikeFifth pitch - groundout. If I don't see something, I may be abandoning this game shortly.

2 out, 0 on.

Rolen - first pitch, ballSecond pitch, flyout. Grrrrr.

3 out. Someone is pitching like a former Cy Young winner here. Someone else is not.

Top 5th - Carpenter vs. Wright, Alou, Green

Wright - first pitch,called strikeSecond pitch - ballThird pitch - ball. I'm going to kill this ump.Fourth pitch - ball. Bloody hell, Carp has nothing. Get him out of there.Fifth pitch - a hit. I told ya.... Tony, get off your keister and remove Carp from the ballgame. He is not giving us the best chance to win.

0 out, 1 on.

Alou - pickoff attempt at first.First pitch - fouled away.Second pitch - called strikeThird pitch - ball.Fourth pitch - swinging strike. Second K for Carp. Can they not score this inning? Please? If Carp manages to go 7 (possible, but unlikely, since his pitch count is at 83) I may relent a bit, but not much. This is a stinker, as opening games go. He doesn't have his curveball (a killer out pitch for him) or his command. Not good.

1 out, 1 on.

Green - first pitch, grounds into a forceout. Wright out, Green on at first.

2 out, 1 on.

Valentin - first pitch, ballSecond pitch - called strikeThird pitch- swinging strikeFourth pitch - fouledFifth pitch - got him to chase out of the zone, strikeout, inning over. I suppose by the metrics of Carp's outing to date, this is a successful inning. Practically Cy Young-like... only one baserunner.

3 out. 5-0 Mets.

Bottom 5th - Glavine vs. Molina, Edmonds, Taguchi

C'mon, somebody put a jolt into this crowd. They were so excited and... now look what you've done. Glavine only at 54 pitches through 5, he could go a complete game at this rate.

Molina - first pitch, ballSecond pitch - called strikeThird pitch - No shit? A hit? Yadi dumps a single into CF.

o out, 1 on.

Edmonds - first pitch, ballSecond pitch - fouledThird pitch - fouled again.Fourth pitch - ball on the inside cornerFifth pitch - fouled. Jimmy trying to stay alive and work up the pitch count.Sixth pitch - grounds into double play. So much for that. Does Edmonds need a little more time to sit?

2 out, 0 on. This is a baaaad Opening Night game. I'm going to need a win by both the A's and the Rockies tomorrow to improve my mood.

3 out. 5-0 Mets. Please do not get shut out on Opening Night at home against the team you beat in the NLCS to reach (and win) the World Series. That would just be humiliating.

Do I have to watch this for another inning.......? Heeba.

Top 6th - Carpenter vs. Glavine, Reyes, Lo Duca

Can we, for the love of Albert, get a 1-2-3 inning for the first time since the opening frame? Please. Thank you.

Glavine - first pitch, ballSecond pitch, ballThird pitch, ball, good lordFourth pitch - called strikeFifth pitch - called strike, goodSixth pitch - groundout, Carp to Pu. If you're coming back into form, it's a little late for that, Carp, but better late than never. You get to face the Astros at the JuiceBox next, which won't do any wonders for your ERA. Better keep it together before you get to hit the Pirates and Cubs twice apiece. AND the Cubs have an improved offense now. Let's not disintegrate to badness. I know you are better than this.

Kennedy - first pitch, ballSecond pitch - called strikeThird pitch - fouled awayFourth pitch - ballFifth pitch - aaaaan out. Glavine is old! He's not supposed to be this good any more! Either that or the Cards missed the memo that they were supposed to come out and show the Mets why they were champs! Instead, they're showing why they had the lowest win total for a world champion in quite a very long time...

Pujols - first pitch, ball.Second pitch - ballThird pitch - ball. They don't want to give him anything to hit.Fourth pitch - called strike. Let's do this, MVP.Fifth pitch - ball four, Albert walks. They were pitching him very, very carefully there. Now it's up to Rolen. If he gets a run in, I won't leave the game and go get something to eat, which was my plan.

2 out, 2 on.

Rolen - first pitch, fouled away. Swinging early.Second pitch - fouled again.Third pitch - hit by pitch, possibly in retaliation (aka the unspoken code of baseball) but a bad time to do so. Bases loaded, and... Yadier Molina, who killed the Mets' hopes last season with his ninth-inning, Game 7 HR, is up. It may be karma. COME ON!!!

3 on, 2 out.

Molina - first pitch, called strike.Second pitch - ball, lowThird pitch - goddammit. Guess the moving-Molina-up experiment didn't work. The Cards come away with only one run as Yadier gives us a dopy soft pop-up for our trouble.

3 outs. New pitcher coming in for the Cards. 5-1 Mets.

Top 7th - Tyler Johnson vs. Beltran, Delgado, Wright

Nothing like trial-by-fire for the second-year lefty, eh? Carp departs having pitched six innings, five runs, one walk, three strikeouts, ERA 7.50. Fuuuuucking a.

Beltran - first pitch, foulSecond pitch - high heater popped out to Kennedy.

1 out, 0 on.

Delgado - first pitch, called strike. TJ looking good so far, but I said that about Carp and look how that turned out.Second pitch - swinging strike.Third pitch - ball, inside cornerFourth pitch - Nasty! Outside corner, swinging strike, second out.

2 out, 0 on.

Wright - first pitch, high ballSecond pitch - flyout to Wilson.

3 out. 5-1 Mets.

Sharp, quick, crisp, clean inning from Ty Johnson. I like that. Sadly, the last 1-2-3 inning for the Cards since the first.

Bottom 7th - Pedro Feliciano vs. Edmonds, Taguchi, Kennedy

Glavine departs with six solid innings - six hits, one run, one walk, two strikeouts, 1.50 ERA.

Taguchi - first pitch, ballSecond pitch - GOOD GOD TONY! Get him OUT of there! Flyout to Alou. I suppose the only thing I can say is that it wasn't a DP. Edmonds fussing with his shoulder... not a good sign.

o out, 1 on. Mets coaching staff pays a little social call to Feliciano. They decide he is no longer the man for the job and insert a schmo named Joe Smith instead. Joe Smith's parents are unimaginative. Hopefully he is also a bad pitcher.

Eckstein - first pitch, called strikeSecond pitch - fouled awayInjury delay? What? Who's hurt? Not having TV sucks.Okay. Third pitch - sharply fouled, Miles going.Fourth pitch - a single. 3-4 performance from Eck. I will not say anything bad about him for the next four innings of tomorrow's game.

Scotty-Ro could tie this game right here. What are the odds he will? I won't dare a guess. The Mets' bullpen is looking as bad as the Cards' look good. But the Cards need to capitalize on their shakiness if they plan to get anywhere. As a really scary scenario, Wells and Looper are the next two guys to face the Mutts.

Pitching change - Aaron Heilman in. Don't be impatient, Rolen. Wait for your pitch. Make him groove it. And blast one. Coincidentally, the same scenario as with Albert.

Rolen- first pitch, ballSecond pitch - holy damning hell. Bloody. Bloody. Hell. Rolen hits it really hard but it turns into a DP. Ladies and gents, the Cards are cooked for tonight.

3 out. 5-1 Mets.

Top 9th - Brad Thompson vs. Newhan, Reyes, Lo Duca

Newhan - singles on fourth pitch.

0 out, 1 on

Reyes - first pitch, singles. Okay, Thompson is bad. ;) Get him out. But seriously... whatever.... just whatever by this point.

0 out, 2 on.

WHOA HO HO! Reyes picked off/caught stealing. Nice job, Molina.

1 out, 1 on.

Lo Duca - first pitch, fouledSecond pitch - whoo the mets scored. thompson bad. cards are losing, all not good. RBI single. 6-1. I think I've seen enough for tonight and I didn't eat dinner. I'll finish the liveblog with the bottom of the ninth when I get back, not that that'll be anything particularly special.

Hi, Added a new value add to my blog this weekend - a news widget from www.widgetmate.com. I always wanted to show latest news for my keywords in my sidebar. It was very easy with this widget. Just a small copy paste and it was done. Great indeed.